The search for the Torah codes is rooted in the unfathomable theological premise that the Torah – itself a set of five books of limited length – contains literally all truth. Benjamin Wittes Read Quote
It might seem perverse for honestly religious people to group their faiths with those of the sadists and megalomaniacs who run most cults, but a growing number are doing just that. Benjamin Wittes Read Quote
The quickest way to detect a cult is to sniff for doublethink. The cult seeks control over its membership not by providing a coherent theological system but by providing the opposite: an unstable theology infinitely malleable to the needs of the cult’s top echelon and uninterpretable at all times to anyone below that level. Benjamin Wittes Read Quote
Political as well as religious cults can be distinguished from legitimate organizations by their use of doublethink. Though political cults espouse extremist ideologies, not extremist theologies, operationally they are virtually identical to religious cults, and they also go to great lengths to control the vocabularies of their members. Benjamin Wittes Read Quote
It used to be that what was going to be written on my tombstone was ‘Benjamin Wittes, former ‘Washington Post’ editorial writer,’ or ‘Benjamin Wittes, who wasn’t even a lawyer.’ Now it’s just, like, ‘Benjamin Wittes, who’s a friend of Jim Comey’s.’ Benjamin Wittes Read Quote
The only way to tyrantproof the presidency is not to elect tyrants to the presidency. Benjamin Wittes Read Quote
You cannot denude the presidency of the substance and power of its office. It can’t be done. Benjamin Wittes Read Quote
